ROCK ISLAND, Illinois -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host a public groundbreaking ceremony October 4 to mark the start of construction for the Steamboat Island Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project near Princeton, Iowa. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at the public access area on the south side of the Princeton Wildlife Management Area at 26545 285th Ave., Princeton, Iowa.
The $33.6 million Steamboat Island project, which is funded as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, is in Pool 14 of the Upper Mississippi River. It includes approximately 2,620-acres of interconnected backwaters, secondary channels, wetlands, islands, floodplain habitat and aquatic habitat and is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.
The project will be completed in two stages. A contract for stage one was awarded earlier this year to Architectural Consulting Group of Chicago, Inc. for $8.8 million. Rehabilitation and enhancement efforts over the next several years will involve increasing year-round aquatic habitat diversity, diversifying floodplain forest habitat, restoring island acreage, and protecting and enhancing backwater habitat.
For more information contact the Rock Island District at 309-794-5729 or visit: https://shorturl.at/noqxT.
Release no. 23-039